common-law sponsorship..inland.

[OZinON]

Hello, this is my first time posting.

I am an Australian living in ontario with an open work permit and have been here on said permit since 29-april-2010. I am living here with my common-law partner, we met in australia in december 2009 and have been together ever since, he is a canadian citizen by birth. When his australian work visa was due to expire i moved back here with him and we are now ready to apply for my permanent residency status. We are both 23 years old.

I am finding though that all the paperwork is beyond mind boggling and i feel i am drowning in a sea of paperwork, on top of this my current work permit is set to expire april 1st 2013 so this is adding to the stress of applying as my time is running out.

I have so many questions i would like answered and would love to just sit down with an immigration consultant and work it all out but unfortunately i must stick it out with attempting to get through on the hot line and researching on this website.

My first question is this, I at first believed applying inland was the best way to go but then if my application to renew my work permit is denied and i have to leave the country i lose everything i have worked for thus far?

second question, am i even able to apply to renew my work permit or can i only apply to extend as a visitor?

also is there any point seeing an immigration lawyer or will they just tell me the exact stuff i am reading on this website?

and finally will our age be a problem with our application?

please any help at all would be greatly appreciated as i am just so overwhelmed by all of this.

thank you in advance.

 

[Sweden]

Hello, this is my first time posting.

I am an Australian living in ontario with an open work permit and have been here on said permit since 29-april-2010. I am living here with my common-law partner, we met in australia in december 2009 and have been together ever since, he is a canadian citizen by birth. When his australian work visa was due to expire i moved back here with him and we are now ready to apply for my permanent residency status. We are both 23 years old.

I am finding though that all the paperwork is beyond mind boggling and i feel i am drowning in a sea of paperwork, on top of this my current work permit is set to expire april 1st 2013 so this is adding to the stress of applying as my time is running out.

I have so many questions i would like answered and would love to just sit down with an immigration consultant and work it all out but unfortunately i must stick it out with attempting to get through on the hot line and researching on this website.

My first question is this, I at first believed applying inland was the best way to go but then if my application to renew my work permit is denied and i have to leave the country i lose everything i have worked for thus far?

second question, am i even able to apply to renew my work permit or can i only apply to extend as a visitor?

also is there any point seeing an immigration lawyer or will they just tell me the exact stuff i am reading on this website?

and finally will our age be a problem with our application?

please any help at all would be greatly appreciated as i am just so overwhelmed by all of this.

thank you in advance.

Hey, and welcome to the forum! and the crazy world of CIC and trying to fill out application forms. It is stressful and overwhelming, but eventually you will see the light at the end of the tunnel - we all do/did!

This website will give you a lot of advice and can answer most questions, it's usually faster than an immigration consultant ( because there are people on every side of the world, so it's open 24/7!!) and it's free!

I recommend you to read the first thread by Leon called "inland versus outland" - you don't need to read the whole thread, just the beginning, it will lay out clearly for you the advantages of being inland and outland...

But to answer already your questions: yes, if you apply inland and have to leave the country for any reason (because work permit runs out, or you have to go home for a family emergency etc) and you are not allowed back into the country, then your application will be deemed abandoned and you will have to start all over again... so not really what you would want...

About renewing your work permit, or extending it, it really depends on what type of work permit you have - is it through a company and LMO or an IEC visa? or any other? depending on the type of permit, you would renew it, or not.

Immigration lawyer - unless you have a very complicated case ( previous marriage, children on your own etc) it is not necessary. It's tempting because it feels like you won't have to do the paperwork, but that's not the case - because they can only write down what you tell them, so you would still have to provide all the information... I think this website is enough, and most of us have done without a lawyer without troubles - apart from not having a dinner table for 3 months because it was covered by paperwork! so... I would advise you to try by yourself, and if you find a question that can not be answered here, and is difficult, then people here would be able to tell you whether it is beyond a "normal case" and you actually need a lawyer - otherwise you might as well save some money!

Your age will not be a problem for your application. What CIC cares about is how long you have been together, and that you can prove it.

So a few questions for you : are you able to prove that you have lived at least 12 months with your partner? It doesn't matter if 6 months is in Canada, and 6 months in Australia, as long as you have the proofs.

To answer about inland versus outland... There are very very few advantages in your case about going inland... because Sydney is one of the fastest VO, and being from a visa-exempt country, you could stay here even if your permit runs out.

My suggestion: put the paperwork together, and apply outland. Currently it's 35 days for stage 1, but lots of people have been done in less than that. Then Sydney is fast... so even if you don't have your PR before April ( which is still possible!), you could stay here...

What I mean: if in April you don't have a PR and your work permit can not be extended, you can stay on a tourist visa and wait out the rest of the PR in Canada with your partner. You won't be covered by healthcare most likely, and not be able to work is hard, but if it's a few months, it's feasible... ( i did that...and survived!). Then once you have your PR, the only thing you need to do is go to the US border, exit canada and "land" again - cross into the border, and complete immigration procedures (10 min more or less).. easy!

If you have not seen it already, and you are not on an IEC permit, then have a look at it. https://www.whpcanada.org.au/ if your current work permit expires, and can not be renewed, you might be able to get one of the IEC ones, which will link until you get the PR....

So - all in all, you have plenty of options, you are from a visa-exempt country which makes it much easier, and you have one of the fastest VO - so it's all feasible!

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask if something is not clear,
Sweden

 

[OZinON]

Hi sweden,

thankyou so much for your reply.

I have one more question before i launch into my answers to your questions.

I have already had my medical and i have been told they send it off to immigration, and as i originally intended for my application to be inland i used that set of documents, will this hinder me in making my application outland now?

I am currently on a WHP permit which are an excellent permit to be on (im currently on my 2nd WHP permit actually which expires in april)

In both Australia and Canada we have lived with my and now his parents as we are saving for a deposit on our own home here. I hope that still means we are commonlaw as we have lived together since december 2009 just not in our own dwelling?

but i do have all our personal mail, bank statements (joint bank statements also) driver's licences, insurance and vehicle loan paperwork coming to the same address for the past 2.5 years. As well as this, (and ive since been told that these are not as helpful to me as actual bills to our adress etc.) i have over 15 statutory declarations from both countries from family members, work colleagues and friends stating that we have been together the whole time. i also have over 30 photographs for the duration of our relationship and of the various trips we have taken, we travelled to australia for 3 weeks in february to visit my family, so we also have the travel bookings and flights etc to prove that we travelled together. i dont really know what else to include as i get very overwhelmed by it all when trying to research it and since every case is different i never know what to go by.

the only thing really worry about with going outland is if they require an interview i will need to fly home for it correct? its an expensive flight thats all.

and again thankyou so much sweden for your prompt and very helpful reply!

 

[Sweden]

Hi sweden,

thankyou so much for your reply.

I have one more question before i launch into my answers to your questions.

I have already had my medical and i have been told they send it off to immigration, and as i originally intended for my application to be inland i used that set of documents, will this hinder me in making my application outland now?

I am currently on a WHP permit which are an excellent permit to be on (im currently on my 2nd WHP permit actually which expires in april)

In both Australia and Canada we have lived with my and now his parents as we are saving for a deposit on our own home here. I hope that still means we are commonlaw as we have lived together since december 2009 just not in our own dwelling?

but i do have all our personal mail, bank statements (joint bank statements also) driver's licences, insurance and vehicle loan paperwork coming to the same address for the past 2.5 years. As well as this, (and ive since been told that these are not as helpful to me as actual bills to our adress etc.) i have over 15 statutory declarations from both countries from family members, work colleagues and friends stating that we have been together the whole time. i also have over 30 photographs for the duration of our relationship and of the various trips we have taken, we travelled to australia for 3 weeks in february to visit my family, so we also have the travel bookings and flights etc to prove that we travelled together. i dont really know what else to include as i get very overwhelmed by it all when trying to research it and since every case is different i never know what to go by.

the only thing really worry about with going outland is if they require an interview i will need to fly home for it correct? its an expensive flight thats all.

and again thankyou so much sweden for your prompt and very helpful reply!

The medicals form have changed recently so I'm not sure but the inland and outland ones are different from what I understand, so if you decide to go outland you might have to re-do the medicals... also the forms are different so make sure that you are filling out the right ones before sending everything off!

For living together - as long as you can prove ( with a letter from his parents, and from yours) that you were living together and explain why ( not paying rent, saving for a deposit etc), then it should be fine. You have to be able to prove, so if you don't have a rent, make sure you get a letter from both sides stating that you have lived with them, and it should be fine, especially if you have all the rest of the papers coming to your address etc - then it should be enough, no problem.

About what to include - what is important is what makes sense to your own story. Include the official things ( bank statement etc), as well as letters from friends and family, insurance etc. Then ask yourself the question: does it seem that from an external point of view you two have been together? if yes, great. if no - what is missing? and address that. Each case is different, and as long as your evidence proves that you are together as a couple, then you'll be fine.

About an interview - yes, you would have to fly home... but an interview is the exception rather than the rule for your VO... you don't come from a country with a high level of fraud and marriage of convenience, and in general visa-exempt country applicants rarely get an interview, unless there is something unusual in the relationship ( big age difference, previous marriage and children, difference in background and education etc). If you are a "straightforward case" ( more or less same age, met while travelling, you've been in Canada for a while working, both families are aware of the relationship etc), then an interview is quite unlikely... so I would say it should not be the main reason for choosing inland, as especially with Sydney, you could be done very fast, and it allows you to still travel if needed...

good luck with the paperwork... it is a bit overwhelming, but it eventually starts to make sense.... so you'll be fine!
Sweden